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Consumer behaviour influenced by ethics

A recent survey, of 4,500 adults and 500 16-17 year olds, has found that consumer behaviour is influenced by ethical issues, with 70 per cent of adults in the UK claiming they would opt to shop at a retail chain which pays its staff the living wage.

According to KPMG, who carried out the survey, the findings represent an increase of 10 per cent in under a year.

Of the adults, 80 per cent said that they knew about the living wage and 60 per cent of 16-17 year olds had also heard of it.

The findings showed that young consumers are less influenced by the issue, with around 40 per cent of those aged between 18-24 saying that they want cheap products despite what retail chains pay their employees.

The UK living wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the United Kingdom.

Campaign group, Living Wage Foundation, set the rate of £7.85 per hour as the living wage, with the rate rising to £9.15 per hour in London. However, the national minimum wage is significantly lower for workers over 21, at just £6.50 per hour.

The survey also revealed that 60 per cent of the adult males in the survey, and 70 per cent of adult females, believe that employers not paying their staff enough is the main reason as to why there are so many people living in poverty in the United Kingdom.

Keith Weed, CMO of Unilever, said of the issue in a Marketing Magazine interview:

"What I see are citizens increasingly holding businesses and brands to account on issues like climate change and social inequality, and I expect to see this trend only increase," he said"So it's becoming a demand, as well as a supply, issue, which is a good thing,"

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